Green superfoods are a great way to good health!
Throughout life we’ve heard these words “Eat all your vegetables!” Our parents have told us. royalgreen condo We tell our kids. And most times, we need to tell ourselves!
So tell me again? What could possibly make eating green vegetables a GOOD thing? Things like spinach, broccoli, avocado, green peppers, romaine lettuce? Give me ten good reasons you say? I will. Get ready!
Here’s the first all-encompassing reason. Dark green vegetables have a high density of nutrition and have the least calorie content. Leafy green vegetables are:
o low in calories
o low in fat
o high in protein per calorie
o high in dietary fiber
o high in iron and calcium
o and contain high amount of phytochemicals particularly beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene
o Contain carotenoids, flavonoids and other powerful antioxidants that have cancer protective vitamin A, vitamin C, lutein and folic acid
o Good source of enzymes
The second important reason? The average American diet is severely lacking in green vegetables. The U.S. government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating one cup of raw, green leafy vegetables a day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the average American eats less than one-third of the recommended allowance of dark green and orange vegetables. Instead of the recommended one cup a day, that’s just about 2 cups a week!
Good Green Superfood
These are the main reasons you should be eating green superfoods but there are more great reasons that explain why green superfoods can be essential to good health.
Low in Calories: Green veggies make great food when you’re on a diet. Green beans, cabbage, leafy greens are low starch and low in calories and can help fill your stomach with nutrition, but not calories.
High Protein: Vegetables like broccoli and romaine lettuce have high protein content. It is interesting to note that plant protein is superior to protein that you get from meat sources because it is much easier to digest. A half cup of broccoli contains 3 grams of protein. Certain blue-green algae like spirulina and chlorella contain a protein content which is higher than any meat, soy and wheat. Spirulina consists of 65-70% protein and does not contain any fat.
Phytochemicals: Green vegetables are rich in phytochemicals, particularly romaine lettuce – and darker green leafy vegetables like spinach, zucchini, brussels sprouts, garden peas, Swiss chard, kale, collard greens, mustard greens and turnip greens. These green vegetables contain the powerful antioxidants beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin